Biblical Hebrew Forum

[James Christian <jc.bhebrew AT googlemail.com>]

> וחשך על פני תהום ורוח 'And it was dark on the surface of Tehom'. This
> phrase
> is often used as argument that the creation account is an adaptation of
the
> Babylonian creation myth involving Tiamat. While such a vain discussion
can
> have much comical value it seems clear to me that 'Tehom' was the proper
> name of the universal ocean that covered the land in its initial creation
> state.
>
> THWM is used in the plural in Psalms 33:7, 107:26, 135:6 and Proverbs
3:20,
indicating, along with its other uses, that it was considered just a noun
referring to the deep seas. Other religions may have considered it a proper
name, but not the Bible.

Hi Karl,

In Genesis 1 it comes across as being used as a proper noun because it is
used without the definite article.

James Christian